Do you know where your children are?
Do you know where your children are? is a popular question used as a public service announcement for parents on American TV throughout the 1960s, 1970s & 1980s, usually @ 10 or 11 PM, depending on the market &/or the time of the local youth curfew. The phrase originated from Buffalo, New York's long time ABC affiliate WKBW & was possibly inspired by the Scottish bedtime story, Wee Willie Winkie. WKBW news director Irv Weinstein is said to have begun using the phrase @ the beginning of his career in the early 1960s, @ the suggestion of a local viewer. WKBW used the phrase until 2003, when virtually all of it's old image was scrapped in favor of a newer package & returned to the phrase as a partial return to it's old package in 2008. Besides being used on WKBW, the question became the long-running slogan of New York City TV station (and eventual FOX affiliate), WNYW, which often had celebrities saying it on camera just before the news. In popular culture *The phrase is used in an ethnic joke: ;What's the difference between America, Canada, England, France, Italy, Poland & Japan? :In America they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?"'' :In Canada they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your neighborhood is?"'' :In England they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your family is?"'' :In France they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your husband is?"'' :In Italy they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your wife is?"'' :In Poland they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know what time it is?"'' :In Japan they say, '' "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your viewers are?"'' *Comedian Lewis Black wrote a play in the late sixties by this name along with Cary Engleberg. *The question is parodied in an audible on Yahoo! Messenger with "It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your brain is?". *The tagline for the movie Repo Man reads: "It's 4 AM. Do you know where your car is?". * On an episode of King of the Hill, Dale is shown to have a book called '' It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your government is?. *In an episode of ''The Simpsons, while Bart is out late, Homer is watching TV & the PSA plays, to which he replies "I told you last night, no!" *CBS used the phrase "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your parents are?" between shows to advertise the series Swingtown. *Monster.com uses the phrase "It's (clock showing actual time). Do you know where your career is?" in some of it's web advertisements. *Soulwax uses this phrase in it's song "Theme From Discotheque". The song is released under the name Samantha Fu, a Soulwax alias. The songs lyrics go: "It's 10 PM, do you know where your children are? (...) some say they come looking for drugs, dirty dancing & pounding techno music!" External links * WNYW bumper from 1986 with Earl Monroe asking the question. * Susan Anton asks in 1988. * WNEW (forerunner to WNYW) asks in 1979. * The WKBW version, circa 1988.